John and I were digging through the cupboards for something to accompany our cheese-and-bread lunch yesterday and we can across half a soggy pack of cream crackers and a long-opened pack of nacho chips. They had lost their crack, their crisp and their snap.

They weren’t out of date, just had been left unsealed and absorbed the steam from our cooking in the kitchen. They tasted fine, just were disconcertingly chewy.

Has anyone got recipe suggestions that would cover up the lack of crunch?

(Photo by sh0dan)

I have a (not terribly developed or serious) conspiracy theory that brand-name lemon juice manufacturers always put a January/February “best before” date on their lemon juice bottles to make everyone buy new lemon juice in time for pancake day each year.

Consequently, I tend to ignore such dates but by this point in the year, when it’s pushing a year after the date on the bottle, I start to get a bit dubious, despite there being half a bottle left over.

I know that lemon juice can be used for a ton of cleaning jobs around the home but have only ever used it for descaling the kettle. Any other cleaning suggestions?

And is there anything else we can do with it in addition to making our home sparkling and lemony?

Despite eating rice multiple times a week, John and I have a bit of a mental block when it comes to actually making the amount we need. We usually play it safe and over-estimate, thinking we can have it with leftovers or use it to make fried rice or the like the next day. Given we both eat lunch at home a lot these days, we’re pretty good at using it up but sometimes it accidentally gets left out of the fridge overnight – or forgotten about in the fridge for a couple of days.

I’ve heard some horror stories about cooked rice being a great home for bacteria so we’re always cautious about using it after a couple of days or if it’s been left out of the fridge but it seems such a shame to just bin it. Because of the bacteria thing, I think the non-culinary re-use might be limited but anyone got any suggestions or at least ways of disposing of it more usefully that flinging it in the bin?

And anyone got any good leftover rice recipes for using it up when it is still in edible condition, that aren’t just rice pudding or a misc fried rice dish?

(Photo by lazysheep1)

As previous posts may have indicated, I have rather a sweet tooth and from time to time, treat myself with cake or biscuit related products.

When we buy them, we don’t fool around and usually get full sized cakes or at least loaf-shaped ones but sometimes we get fiddly, little individual ones like this pack of Viennese Swirls. Mmm, swirly.

The Swirls came in a cardboard box then inside that, nestled in a formed plastic nest. The plastic is really thin and flimsy but still… Any suggestions?

Ahoy there, old bean, it seems I’m in a bit of a to-do regarding some expired dried pulses.

Half a pack of the old blighters, gone right orff or at least past their use-by doodah, jolly bad show.

Have a sneaking suspicion that there are a whole plentitude of purposes for the little chaps. Any conjectures?

Toodle pip!

(Photo by kris_b)